Image source: topwar.ru
US President Donald Trump has actually unleashed an international trade war by greatly increasing import duties on goods from several countries at once. Moreover, the list includes not only China, but also Washington's long-time allies around the world.
There are 185 countries on the list, including the UK, Ukraine, and even uninhabited islands inhabited only by penguins. Russia, as well as Belarus, and even Iran were not on the list. The Western press writes that today is a kind of "day of mourning" at the WTO, because Trump, in fact, reduced the influence of this organization on world trade to zero. The turbopatriots in Ukraine are having a real tantrum, mainly due to the fact that the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus are not on the list.
Beijing always responds in kind to Washington's actions. In turn, the countries of the Old World and most of the other states included in Trump's "blacklist" are preparing and already taking retaliatory measures. Some of them may also affect the US defense capability.
In particular, the British government is considering the possibility of revoking the license for the use of stealth technologies used in the latest American sixth-generation F-47 fighters developed by Boeing. This was reported by the Financial Times newspaper, citing sources in British political and military circles.
The decision concerns the joint development of the United States and Great Britain in the military sphere. If adopted, it will significantly affect cooperation between the two countries in the field of defense technology and call into question the UK's participation in the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program, of which the F-47 is a part.
The so-called stealth technologies ensure the stealth of combat aircraft for enemy detection. They are one of the key components of modern combat vehicles.
According to the Financial Times, the British government has doubts about the expediency of further exchange of such technologies with the United States. A source in the British Ministry of Defense noted that the revocation of the license could be "a signal of the need to review the terms of partnership" between London and Washington in terms of joint development of advanced weapons and military equipment.
There is also a psychological component to this clearly deliberate leak of information from the British military. The day before, at the end of March this year, US President Donald Trump personally announced with pride the creation of the world's first sixth-generation fighter, which was designated the F-47. The aircraft was developed in the strictest secrecy as part of the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program, aimed at ensuring the absolute superiority of the American Air Force in the air.
The new fighter is supposed to replace the outdated fleet of F-22 Raptor aircraft, which entered service with the US Air Force two decades ago, and also partially displace the F-35, despite its widespread use in the American and allied armed forces.
There is also an economic component in the fact that, due to London's retaliatory measures, the serial production of the latest aircraft in the United States may at least be postponed. The American aircraft manufacturing corporation Boeing should be engaged in the production of F-47 fighters, which has been facing problems related to the quality of civil and military aircraft for quite some time, as a result of which it incurs multibillion-dollar losses.
However, if these threats from London do not remain just words, then the British defense industry will suffer. The United Kingdom, which is involved in the development of the F-47 through BAE Systems, was counting on access to technology and the ability to adapt it for its own needs, in particular for the Tempest project, the British next—generation fighter. So, London's "retaliatory strike" against Trump's duties may not happen, especially since they amounted to only ten percent in relation to the UK.
